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(N0 ModeL) 3 Sheets-'-Sh.eet 1.

' B. S. CHURCH.

PUMP.

Patented Oct. 6

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets Sheet 2. s. CHURCH. PUMP.

Patented Oct. 6, 1896.

MT/YESSES ,m: uonms mans oov. PHOTOJJTHQ, WASHINGTON. ov a.

3 Sheet S- Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

B. s. CHURCH.

PUMP.

Patented Oct. 6, 1896.

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UNITED STATES ATENT QFFICE.

BENJAMIN S. CHURCH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PUMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 568,742, dated October6, 1896.

7 Application filed February 15,1892. Serial No. 421,535. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN S. CHURCH, of the city and county of NewYork, State of New York, have invented a certain new and'useful ImprovedPump, of which the following is a true and exact description, referencebein g had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to pumps of the kind in which the fluid is raisedby the injection of compressed air or steam into the lower and submergedend of a pipe, creating in said pipe a column made up of alternatesections of fluid and gas, which is propelled upward by a forcecorresponding to the excess weight for a given height of the fluid atthe base of the pipe and the mixed column within the pipe.

The object of my invention is to increase the capacity and facilitatethe control and management of pumps of this description.

The nature of my improvements will be best understood as described inconnection with the drawings, in which they are illus-- trated, and inwhich Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a pump provided with myimprovements. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view on the line at 00 ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating in detail thevalve-actuating mechanism which I prefer to use, and Fig. 4 is asectional elevation showing the application of my improvements to a tanksituated above ground.

A, Fig. 1, is a well provided with a casing 13, which may be consideredas a sunken tank, and as illustrated in Fig. l is a tank situatedentirely above ground.

0 is a main leading to the top of thetank or well, by which it is keptfilled with water or any other fluid.

D is a pipe which is contained in the tank B, into which its lower end Dopens freely, said lower end being preferably made bellshaped, as shown.At or about the level of the fluid in the tank or slightly above it, asshown, an opening D is made in the pipe D, which opening is controlledby a valve D (See Fig. 4, where this valve is shown as actuated by alever I), connected with it by a rod D The function of this valve oropening is to facilitate the starting of the apparatus by allowing thefluid to escape at this point or nearly to atmospheric pressure.

or to serve as a by-pass when for any other reason it is not desired todrive the fluid to a greater height.

D is the top of the pipe D, the height of which above the level of thefluid in the tank will depend upon the height of the liquid column inthe tank and the relative proportion of gas and liquid in the pipe.

E is a casing of larger diameter than pipe D, but parallel andconcentric with its end and open to the atmosphere at top and bottom, asshown; F, a receiving-conduit, the end of which is also in line with themouth of pipe D, and which leads into a receivingtank Gr.

H is an air pump or compressor; I, a compressed-air pipe leading fromthe compressor and terminating with a nozzle J, situated in the bottomof pipe D and pointing upward in line with s'aid pipe, as shown.

The arrangement of the well, pipe D, compressor, and compressed-air pipeto the extent already described is familiar; and it has been found thatby forcing air through the nozzle J at a slightly greater pressure thanthat of the fluid column at the same point with a mixed attending columnmade up of alternate sections of air and fluid will be formed in thepipe D, as illustrated by the shaded and blank spaces in the drawingFig. l; and it is also found that the velocity of this column increasesrapidly as it moves upward, for the obvious reason that theair-sectionswill expand as the pressure above them diminishes, so that the velocityof each watersection is constantly increasing and at the top of the pipeis equal to the velocity of the entering fluid at the bottom of the'pipeplus the velocity due to the expansion of the air from the maximum pointof compression to In order to take advantage of this acceleratedvelocity, I place the receiving-tank G atsome distance above the top ofpipe D, provided with a receiving-nozzle F, the end of which is in linewith the end of pipe D. By this arrangement the water-sections are shotacross the intervening space between the end D nof pipe D and the mouthof nozzle F, the air-sections, expanded already to nearly atmosphericpressure, escaping to the side, so that a practically continuous supplyof water enters tank 'G- 4 through nozzle F.

Preferably the casing E,

open at both ends, extends between the nozzle F and the month 1) of pipe1). This casing prevents the formation of cross-currents, the airpassing through it parallel to the water-sections and acting to holdthem together, so to speak.

Passing now to the main feature of my invention, I will first state thatI have taken advantage of the naturally intermittent alternatin g flowof fluid and gas and have ascertained that by artificially regulatingthe relative admission of air and fluid to the pipe 1) the mixed columnin said pipe may be driven to almost any desired height or delivered ata lower point at almost any desired pressure. Roughly speaking, forinstance, and assuming that without regulation the column in pipe D willbe raised to a height equal to the depth of the tank 15, by doubling thepropertionate quantity of air supplied to the pipe I am enabled to raisethe column to a height above the tank twice as great as its depth, andso 011.

Reference being new again had to the drawings, L is a valve by which theflow of water into pipe D can be regulated at will. This valve, in caseof a sunken tank, as shown in Fig. 1, is most conveniently arranged tooperate in an opening K, situated in a partition or diaphragm K,extending across the casing B. By closing this valve the water or otherfluid above the diaphragm is cut oft from the fluid below and thepressure of fluid at the mouth of pipe D correspondingly diminished.

Where the tank is supported above ground, as shown in Fig. 4, the valveL can be conveniently situated at the mouth of the belllike bottom D ofpipe 1'), the seat 7t" being there provided for it in an annular rim 70.For obvious reasons it is best that the valve L should open in thedirection of the flow of fluid.

The valve L is to be actuated at proper intervals by means of automaticvalve-actuating mechanism, and is preferably socount'erweighted orbalanced that when the liquid column is not descending it will seatitself. Then by providing an ant omatic catch which will hold it to itsseat it is only necessary, in addition, to provide an intermittently-acting catch-lifting device, which, at regular intervals,will lift the catch, permitting the valve to open under the pressure ofa descending liquid column. The flow of liquid into the pipe D being ofan intermittent character, as described already, the counterweightedvalve will always seat itself at the proper time; that is to say, at:the time when the ascending column of water is broken by the pressure ofthe air.

Referring again to the drawings, (see Figs. 1 and 23,) M is aconnecting-rod secured to the top of the valve-rod L and pivoted to anarm N of a lever N N, which is pivoted at a and provided with acounterweight N 2 011 its arm N. This counterweighted lever will performthe function of drawing the valve L to its seat whenever the fluid inthe casing 'l is at rest.

m is a shoulder which, when the valve is seated, is engaged by ashoulder oot a catchlever O, pivoted at 0.

1 is a trip-rod having a stop 1", so placed that when the rod is raisedit will engage the catch-lever O, which normally rests upon a stop 0,and raising to a sutlicient height to disengage the shoulder 0 from theshoulder m. As shown, the rod P is a continuation of the piston-rodpassing through a cylinder Q and attached to a piston Q. Air or steampassing through conduits S S enters the valveboX of the cylinder Q andis directed to one side or the other of the piston Q by a valve Q, thevalve-stem Q of which is secu red to the arm U of bell-crank lever U U,pivoted at u, the end U of which is forked and engaged by a projection nof the leverarm N. The eiiect of this arrangement, as will be readilyseen, is to admit steam to the bottom of cylinder Q as soon as thevalve 1) has seated itself. This causes the piston Q and rod P to moveupward until the lug P disengages the catch-lever 0, this disengagementbeing timed to occur when the water in the casing ll is free and, readyto move downward and enter the pipe D. Consequently the valve L at onceopens, pulling down the arm N of lever N N and reversing the position ofthe valve Q which admits the air or steam to the top of cylinder Q andcauses the rod 1 to move down again.

In working the pump, as I propose to do,

with artificially timed and proportioned sections of air and fluid inthe pipe D it is advisable not only to control the low of fluid, butalso the flow of air. Indeed, while the results I aim at can be securedto a greater or less extent by regulating either the flow of water orthe flow of air, the best results can only be had when both areregulated; and Itherefore provide a valve 10, (see Fig. 1,) by which theair-conduit I can be opened and closed at will. This valve is connectedto the end of a rod \V, the upper end of which is secured to a piston'1", working in a cylinder l, which comm unicates, through a valve-boxand the pipes S S with a boiler or receiver of steam or air, a valve Tgoverning the admission of the actuating :fluid to the top or bottom ofthe cylinder.

The valve-stem T of valve T is connected by link T with the arm V of alever V V, pivoted at r, and the arm V of which extends within the pathof stops on the rod 1, being so placed that the stop P will act upon itat substantially the same time that the catchlcver O is lifted out ofengagement by the stop P This motion of leverV V draws the valve T down,ad mitting steam or air to the bottom of cylinder T and forcing valve 10to its seat, where it remains until the rod P, moving downward, comes incontact with the lever V V, shifting the position of valve T and causingthe valve to be pushed down ICC away from its seat. The inrush of air inthe pipe D has at once the effect of checking the flow of water into thesaid pipe, and as soon as the water comes to rest the valveL moves up toits seat, looking itself there by the devices already described, and atthe same time shifting the valve Q and causing the rod P to move upward.

' In order to properly regulate and time the up-and-down strokes of thepiston Q and rod P and through it to regulate the admission of air andfluid, I provide the regulating device R, which consists of a cylinderR, in which works a piston R, this piston being connected with the rodP, as shown, being fastened directly to a continuation of it. Thecylinder R opens at top and bottom in the by-passes R and R andupwardly-opening valves It and R arranged in these by-passes, as shown,so that when the piston R moves downward the fluid with which the apparatus is filled must pass upward through valve R in by-pass R while whenthe piston It moves upward the fluid must pass downward through by-passB In each by-pass there are situated also adjustable regulating-valves Rand R, which, as shown, can be moved to or from seats R and R at will.By adjusting these valves the resistance to the upand-down motions ofthe piston R can be regulated and varied at will, and this resistanceregulates the speed with which the rod P moves up and down. Hence bythis simple device I am enabled to regulate and adjust the time of airand fluid admission to the pipe D in any desired proportion.

In Fig. 4 I have shown the tank Bas placed above ground and having thecompressedair pipe I passing through its side near the bottom instead ofextending down from the top of the tank. The valve L is also placed inthe bottom of pipe D, extending across its bell-shaped mouth D, in whichposition it opens upward and is controlled by devices similar to thosealready described, with which it is connected through links l, lever lP, pivoted at Z and secured to the end of a rod M.

' It is obvious, of course, that my improved device can be used inconnection with any natural reservoir of water as well as with a well ordeep tank; that is to say, the pipe D may be immersed in a lake or riverand provided with valve-actuating mechanism and will operate in the sameway as I have described above.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A pump having thecombination of a conduit D with its lower end openfor the admission of fluid, a water-reservoir connected with the lowerend of conduit D an air-compressor, a compressed-air pipe I having anozzle J opening into the bottom of conduit D; a conduit F situatedabove and'in line with the upper end of conduit D, the space betweenconduit D and conduit F being open to the atmosphere and a receptacle G.

2. A pump having the combination of a con duit D with its lower end openfor the admission of fluid, a water-reservoir connected with the lowerend of the conduit D, an aircompressor, a compressed-air pipe I having anozzle J opening into the bottom of conduit D; a ventilated conduit Eleading upward from the top of conduit D, and a conduit F situated atthe top of conduit E and leading to a reservoir G.

3. A pump having the combination of a well or tank as B, a conduit Dopening at the bottom of said tank; an air compressor and pipe I leadingtherefrom into the bottom of conduit D; a diaphragm K situated in tank Bor its equivalent as described and having a valve-seated opening K, avalve L operating in opening K, and automatic valve-actuating mechanismfor opening and closing said valve to regulate the supply of water toconduit D.

4. A pump having the combination of a well or tank as B, a conduit Dopening at the bottom thereof; an air compressor and pipe I leadingtherefrom into the bottom of conduit D; a diaphragm K situated in tank Bor its equivalent as described and having a valveseating opening K, avalve L operating in opening K, a valve 10 arranged in air-pipe I, andautomatic valve-actuatin g mechanism arranged to actuate valves L and wregulating the supply of water and air to conduit D.

5. In a pump constructed substantially as described, the combinationwith a valve L governing the flow of water and opening in the directionof flow, of a counterweight adjusted to close said valve when the flowof water ceases or diminishes; a catch arranged to hold the valveseated, and an automatic catch-lifting device arranged to lift the catchand permit the valve to open at regular intervals.

6. In a pump constructed substantially as described, the combinationwith a valve L governing the iiow of water and opening in the directionof flow; of a counterweight ad justed to close said valve when the flowof water ceases or diminishes; a catch arranged to hold the valveseated; a valve to regulating the flow of compressed air in the pump;valve-actuating mechanism arranged to open and close said valve, and anautomatic device arranged to lift the catch of valve L at regularintervals and to open and close valve 10 substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

7. In a pump constructed substantially as described, the combinationwith the water and air valve connections of the cylinder Q, the piston Qmoving thereon, the piston-rod P connected to piston Q and arranged toactuate the valves as described; the valve Q controlling the admissionof fluid to cylinder Q and actuated by the movements of the wasaidbypasses, all substantially as and for tor-valve; the cylinder R, thepiston R Workthe purpose specified.

in" in said e linder and connected with red I? the by-pzSsses R and Rconnecting with CHURCH cylinder R at both ends, the valves R and\Vitnesses:

R situated in bypasses R and R and the LIsLE STOKES,

adjustable valves R and R also situated in JOSHUA MATLACK, Jr.

